bowling party ideas
BY A PROFESSIONAL PARTY PLANNER
These modern & retro bowling party ideas can easily be adapted to suit any age group, depending on whether you’re planning a kid’s, teen or adult birthday.
Below are some tips and suggestions for bowling party food & drinks, bowling party invitations, decorations and party games.
A word of warning about retro bowling parties though. Although the style looks lovely—and I’m a big fan of it personally—retro bowling decorations and birthday party supplies are harder to come by. Which means you usually have to make things yourself or spend more money on vintage style items.
Regardless of whether you’re going to do a modern or retro bowling party, the first thing to decide is if you’re going to hold the birthday party at a bowling alley or at home.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both options so you just need to weigh up what’s more important to you.
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i’m matt james
professional event producer
welcome
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TIPS & ADVICE
Below are tips and advice to help you decide whether to hold your birthday party at a bowling alley or at home.
Whichever option you choose for your birthday party, you can adapt most of the bowling party ideas below to suit the venue.
If you do decide to hold it at a bowling alley, I’ve put together a checklist of things to remember such as how many lanes to book, reserving lanes until a certain date once guests have replied etc.
advice from a pro
BOWLING ALLEY party: PRO’S AND CON’S
advice from a pro
party at home: PRO’S AND CON’S
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Bowling Alley Party: THINGS TO REMEMBER
If you decide to hold your birthday party at a bowling alley, here are a few useful tips to go with these bowling party ideas:
advice from a pro
themed bowling
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01 bowling party invitations
Below are some suggestions for clever invitations to go with these bowling party ideas:
ADVICE FROM A PRO
Matt’s tip
“I think it’s important to create a big first impression, which is why I always try to include some sort of 3D object tied to the printed invitation with ribbon.
This is a little trick that’s often used by professional party planners to make invitations stand out.
It doesn’t have to be anything expensive, just some cheap novelties, and you can use it re-enforce your party theme. For example, kids sunglasses or a flip flop for a beach party, a toy dinosaur for a dinosaur party, or an eye patch for a pirate party.
People just love to receive unusual invitations; it really captures their imagination and gets them excited about the party.
Click here to check out some examples of 3D object invitations from my party invitations page (opens in a new tab)”.
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BOWLING PIN PARTY INVITATIONS
For 3D birthday party invitations to tie in with these bowling party ideas, you could send a mini foam bowling pin through the mail as the invitation. You can pick these up for around a dollar each, available here.
Then just write or print all the birthday party details onto a small tag and tie it onto the bowling pin with ribbon. Pop into a padded envelope or small box and mail them out, or just hand deliver them on the school run.
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BOWLING PIN COOKIE INVITATIONS
Another fun option that works well with these bowling party ideas is to go for edible birthday party invitations. Pick up a bowling pin cookie cutter, available here, and make a batch of cookies. Wrap each one up in cellophane, including all the party details on a tag as described above, then send them out in a padded envelope or box.
If you’re not really one for baking cookies, you can buy these ready made bowling pin cookies, available here, for less than $3 each.
If you want to make these even more special, lay them on some tissue paper in one of these decorative box mailers and tie up with ribbon.
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PERSONALIZED BOWLING PARTY INVITATIONS
If you prefer to be more traditional, there are lots of birthday invitations available online that would fit well with these bowling party ideas, such as the ones below. Check out this supplier here and also this one here for the best range.
There are also some great retro bowling invitations, such as the ones below, available here and also here.
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BOWLING PARTY INVITATION WORDING
If you’re using one of the 3D birthday party invitations above, and need some wording to add to the tags, below are a few suggestions to go with these bowling party ideas. A word of warning though: use these sparingly, otherwise it can sound a bit cheesy.
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02 bowling party drinks
There are few drinks associated with bowling (unless you’re going for a retro theme where you could serve root beer floats or milkshakes) so take inspiration from iconic components, shapes and colors:
ADVICE FROM A PRO
Matt’s tip
“Always create a signature drink for your party—it’s one of the easiest things you can do to make your party unique.
If your party has a theme, think about what flavors you can use in your signature drink that will convey it.
Don’t forget about styling and presentation too. You could serve drinks in individual bottles, jars, or novelty containers, add your own labels, use themed ice cubes, decorative straws, or drinks picks, or add a simple garnish.
A sprig of berries or a single flower head on the rim of a glass can make a simple cocktail look really stylish”.
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BOWLING PIN MILKSHAKES / COCKTAILS
If your party is for kids, serve a white colored milkshake (such as this pineapple, banana and coconut milkshake recipe) in individual glass bottles and apply some strips of red tape to make them look like bowling pins. Then pop a bowling pin crazy straw, available here, in each bottle and arrange the bottles into a triangle shape to look more like pins.
You can pick up these vintage style glass bottles, available here, for around $1.50-$2 each.
You can adapt this ideas for an adult birthday party by using any white colored cocktail, such as White Russians.
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BOWLING BALL PUNCH / COCKTAIL
Pick up some of these mini plastic fish bowls, available here, to use as glasses. Fill them with a black punch such as this recipe. Then just apply 3 dot stickers, available here, on the side of the bowls to look like the holes.
You can also adapt this for an adult birthday party by using any cocktail with cola, such as Black Russians.
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BOWLING PIN SODA / JUICE
Alternatively, if you’re having your party at the bowling alley, just serves soda in these cute bowling pin sippers – kid’s will love them and they make great party favors. You can pick up plain ones, available here, or you can have them personalized with your guest’s name and a favor tag, available here.
Alternatively, just fill these bowling themed party cups, available here, with regular juice/soda and give them names such as ‘Lucky Strike Punch’ or ‘All Star Soda’.
You can also style them with these bowling themed straws, available here, or make bowling ball shaped ice with these molds, available here, (you could even add some natural food coloring to make them look more like bowling balls).
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WATER
You can also give regular water bottles a bowling themed makeover with these printable labels, available here.
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03 bowling Party food
If you’re holding your party at a bowling alley, bear in the mind that it’s mainly junk food on offer. So see if they’ll let you bring in some of you own so you can add some healthy options (ie, fruit and veg, etc) to your bowling party food. Here are some ideas.
ADVICE FROM A PRO
disclaimer
“As a professional party planner, I’m lucky enough to be able to collaborate with some amazing chefs to create menus for my events.
As I’m no chef myself, and cannot create dishes from scratch, I’ve searched the web for recipes that I think would work well for this party theme.
All credit goes to the talented people who have created these recipes, so please click through to their site for full details, ingredients, methods, and in some cases step-by-step tutorials”.
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bowling cookie CUTTERs
Pick up a bowling pin cookie cutter, available here, or a bowling ball one, available here, There are so many ways you can use this to create themed bowling party food such as sandwiches, pizza, cookies, cheese and fruit slices (see some examples below).
Use a bowling pin cookie cutter to shape white bread sandwiches into pins with red fruit leather to make the stripes. You can also use brown bread to create bowling balls with three olives as the holes.
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bowling Pizza
You can also use the cookie cutters to make themed pizzas to go with your bowling party food. Either cut out shapes from a ready-made pizza (use a square / rectangular shaped pizza to minimize waste)—see below left, or make your own larger pizzas (see below right).
Start by adding only the tomato puree to the base. Then use the cookie cutter as a stencil to arrange the cheese in the shape of the bowling pins (as many as you can fit onto the pizza).
You can add the two red stripes to each pin by using slices of pepperoni or red pepper. Finally, add a bowling ball shape by using black olives.
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bowling cookies
Of course you can also use cookie cutters to make cookies or if you’re not really the baking type, you can pick up ready-made ones, available here, many of which can also be personalized.
If you want to add some healthy options to your bowling party food, you can also use the cookie cutters to shape slices of fruit such as pineapple, melon or watermelon.
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bowling pARTY chilli
For bowling party ideas for teens, you could use the cookie cutters to mold white rice into individual portions then serve with big bowls of chilli or curry (see below). Tip: Stir some melted butter into the rice to help bind it when arranging in the cookie cutter. The red stripes are just slices of red pepper.
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bowling pARTY cupcakes
If you want to make bowling pin cupcakes, check out these (below left, from Berg Family 4 or below right, from Cut Out and Keep). They’re made by placing a mini cupcake upside down on top of a regular one, followed by a donut hole on top of the mini cupcake—with all three components stuck together with frosting. Then let them firm up in the fridge or freezer before covering in melted frosting. The red details can be added by using fruit leather.
Alternatively, you could make some bowling ball cupcakes like these to go with your bowling party food (below left, by ‘new at this’ via Cake Central or below right, by Lunch box Lane)
For a quick and easy option, there are lots of great bowling themed cupcake toppers, such as these edible fondant ones, available here (more designs available, some of which can be personalized).
Alternatively, there are plenty of non-edible toppers such as the ones below available here.
My favorites though, are these personalized photo cupcake toppers where you can add the birthday boy or girl’s face to a bowling shirt. Check them out here (more designs available).
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bowling party rice krispie treats
These Rice Krispie football shirts (below, from Rice Krispie) could easily be adapted to make bowling shirts. Just add a wide vertical stripe down the center of the shirt (see below right).
Similarly, for a quick alternative to cupcakes or cookies, adapt these Rice Krispie sports ball treats (below, from Rice Krispie) using black frosting to make bowling balls (don’t forget to add the three holes in a lighter color frosting to add some definition).
Or, make a sheet of Rice Krispies and use the bowling pin cookie cutter to cut them into bowling pin shapes, then add white and red frosting to decorate.
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bowling ball cake pops
Alternatively, you can buy ready-made bowling themed cake pops, available here.
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bowling candy
Another good way to fill out a dessert table is with these personalized bowling ball lollipops, available here, or these personalized candy bar wrappers, available here (more designs available).
You can also buy dessert table candy by the color, available here, to tie everything in with a bowling themed color scheme.
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concession stand inspired
Check out my page of Baseball party ideas, there are lots of concession stand-inspired dishes such as these hot dog shaped cakes (below left) and this cheesecake that looks like nachos! (below right) which you could also use for bowling party food.
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04 bowling birthday cake styling
Whether you’re making a birthday cake from scratch or just decorating it, below are some suggestions to go with these bowling party ideas:
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birthday cake
If you want to make your own birthday cake to compliment these bowling party ideas, use this sports ball cake pan, available here. It’s a generic ball pan so can be decorated to look like all different types of balls (ex, tennis, basketball etc).
I’d recommend rolling out fondant icing and using this to cover the ball as it will give it a smoother, more realistic appearance (such as this example by see-through-silence at deviant art). You can then add some small black fondant circles and push these in slightly to look like the holes.
Check out this professionally made bowling cake by Cakegirls that I came across on the sweetiecakesandpies blog). This gave me some ideas for how you could enhance the presentation of your bowling ball birthday cake (see below).
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cake tips & tricks
What I’d suggest is displaying the cake on a strip of this wood contact paper, available here, to resemble a bowling lane (you can add some red arrows using card stock for extra detail). Then arrange some of these foam bowling pin stress-balls, available here, or cheap plastic bowling pins, available here, in a triangle at one end.
Alternatively, if you want the pins to look as if they’ve just been struck by the ball, like in the photo, just apply the contact paper to a Styrofoam block and secure the pins in place at angles with skewers.
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bowling cake toppers
If you don’t want to bake your own birthday cake you can use these bowling themed cake toppers, available here, to decorate a cake.
Alternatively, you could use these personalized edible image cake toppers, available here (more designs available).
There are also some great non-edible personalized cake toppers, available here, including this personalized bowling bobblehead, available here, which can be made from a photo of the birthday boy or girl.
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05 bowling dessert / buffet tables
Below are step-by-step instructions for how to decorate a retro bowling dessert table / buffet table.
ADVICE FROM A PRO
Matt’s tip
“I always think it’s a good idea to concentrate the majority of your decorations around a buffet / dessert table as this will create a focal point in the room.
Party decorations often have to compete with existing room decor, so they can get a bit lost if spread too thinly. I think you’re far better off creating one really well themed feature wall that everyone’s eye will be drawn to.
You can then use a few general decorations around the rest of the room to tie everything together.”
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retro DESSERT / BUFFET TABLe
If you’re holding your birthday party at a bowling alley where there is no separate party room (ie, they just set up a food table behind the lanes) definitely make sure you spend a bit of time dressing a small food / dessert table to make it a bit more special—otherwise it can seem a bit impersonal for a birthday party.
You can adapt some of the bowling dessert table ideas below depending on how much space you have available to decorate.
I’ve given this bowling dessert table a retro feel, so start by creating a backdrop by hanging some fabric. There are lots of different retro style fabrics available here by the yard such as “sprinkles” (below left), “argyle” (below center) and “hop dot sky” (below right) plus lots of others.
Alternatively, there are a few bowling themed fabrics, available here, that you could use, such as the ones below, including some which have a retro design.
You can make your own retro bowling sign to hang above your bowling dessert table using some free fonts available to download. The first retro font is called Fontdinerdotcom Sparky (below, by fontdiner on fontspace).
Just download, unzip (using winzip or another free unzip program) then drag the font files into your font folder on your computer. The upper case version is what I used to create the “Bradley’s” part of the bowling dessert table illustration above. Just print each letter off on individual pieces of card then arrange on the wall (either use colored cardstock or just add a colored rectangle in Word, Powerpoint or whatever software you’re using).
The lower case version is what I used to create the “All Star Lanes” part of the bowling dessert table illustration above. The lower case version also includes the little star symbol which gives it a really retro feel.
The second retro font, called Bowlorama (below, also by fontdiner on fontspace) is what I used for the “Bowl-a-rama” part of the bowling dessert table illustration above. The great thing about this retro font is that you can print off each letter individually and just arrange them on the wall.
Use bunches of bowling ball shaped balloons at either end to frame the table.
Update: the bowling ball shaped balloons featured in the design above have been discontinued, however you can make something similar yourself using these huge 17″ round balloons, available here, and adding these black dot labels, available here, to represent the holes.
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bowling party centerpieces
For a centerpiece, arrange some plastic bowling pins in a triangle shape and raise them up on a covered box / cake stand. You can pick up cheap plastic kid’s bowling sets for around $7, available here, which come with 12 pins and 2 balls. They’re fairly cheap quality so may not last very long if used for actual bowling but they’re a great cheap option to use as a centerpiece for a bowling dessert table.
You could also add another tier above the pins with a bowling trophy on, so that the triangle of bowling pins are arranged in such a way to hide the box / tier supporting the trophy. This way the trophy looks like its supported by the bowling pins.
These plastic trophies are available individually or in packs of 12, available here, so you can use them as prizes for bowling games (see Games section below) and just keep one back for your centerpiece.
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ALTERNATIVE BOWLING DESSERT TABLE
Below is another option for a dessert / buffet table to go with these bowling party ideas:
For the backdrop, I’ve used the signage created with the free fonts as described above. Beneath this I’ve used a bowling themed wall decal, available here, (different colors available). These are fairly cheap and look great against a plain wall.
Also, they peel and re-stick easily so you can always use to it to decorate a kid’s bedroom after the party.
Either side of the buffet / dessert table I’ve used bowling ball cut outs, available here, or bowling ball party plates, available here, to create hanging decorations Just stick them onto strips of ribbon or colored string and hang vertically from the ceiling.
This would be a great way to enclose the food / dessert table area if set up behind the bowling lanes at a bowling alley (assuming they’ll let you hang things).
Update: These bowling ball cut outs can be hard to come by, however you can make something similar using paper party plates, available here, and adding these dot labels, available here. Alternatively, you can buy professionally printed bowling ball style party plates, available here.
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ALTERNATIVE BOWLING DESSERT TABLE
Below is one final example of a bowling dessert table:
The homemade bowling ball plates can also be used to create an entire backdrop for a bowling dessert table and you can build bowling pin balloon structures either side of the dessert table. See the Decorations section below for more information on these.
Frame your bowling dessert table by hanging a personalized banner above it. There are lots of different designs available and they’re pretty inexpensive. Check out all the options here and also from this supplier.
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shower curtain backdrops
One final idea for a bowling themed backdrop would be to use a printed shower curtain. There are lots of different bowling themed designs, available here, but I particularly like this 1950’s bowling style one (below left).
You could probably just pin the shower curtin in place, but it might also be worth investing in a cheap photography backdrop support frame, which you can pick up for around $30. Check out my post here for more info and where to buy.
The great thing about these support frames is that you can use them again and again to create different backgrounds for dessert tables by hanging fabric, tissue pom poms, or streamers (as shown below using a backdrop support frame).
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06 food presentation
Here are some food presentation tips to go with these bowling party ideas:
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bowling party printables
There are a number of different bowling themed printable labels, such as the ones below, that can be used to identify different foods on a dessert / buffet table. Check out all the options here (more designs available).
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bowling party trophies
Serve candies or other small items in plastic bowling trophies, available here.
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homemade bowling balls & Pins
If you’re serving lollies, cake pops or any other foods on sticks, you can present these sticking out of homemade bowling balls.
Just pick up some Styrofoam balls, available here, and paint them black, with 3 indents to represent the finger holes (or use the dot stickers mentioned previously). Then secure the Styrofoam balls to a base with a nail (you could use a rectangular piece of Styrofoam or wood covered in decorative paper for the base).
A row of these, say 3 or 4 balls, on one long base would look good. You could even cover the base with a beige colored / wood patterned paper to resemble the bowling lane.
Update: Check out this picture from Janet at Kookie Krums who did this for her daughter’s birthday:
If you’re having soda / water bottles on the table, re-label them and arrange them in a triangle shape like a set of bowling pins.
Alternatively, you could wrap the entire bottle in white paper and add red stripes using ribbon like in this picture I came across (below, by The Wilsons). Just don’t forget to identify what’s in each bottle, perhaps with a label on the reverse.
For an adult party, you’ll probably be using less decorations, but you might want to think about getting some personalized paper napkins made. It’s the little personalized touches that make a party special. Check out all the options here.
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07 bowling party table styling
Below are some table styling tips to go with these bowling party ideas (these can be used at home or in the party room at a bowling alley).
ADVICE FROM A PRO
Matt’s tip
“If it’s a kid’s party, don’t feel as if you have to shy away from using movie / cartoon character-branded tableware.
I see a lot of kid’s parties that are so immaculately styled they look more like adult parties. It’s obvious the parents have designed it for themselves, rather than their child.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a professional party planner it’s to design the party for your audience, not yourself.
The reality is kids want their favorite characters to have a strong presence at their party; they don’t see this as too commercial, for them it’s just fun.
Obviously, it’s important to get the balance right, so don’t go overboard. Character plates and cups work well if combined with a solid color table cover and napkins”.
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bowling lane tabel cover
Decorate the dining table to resemble a bowling lane by using a roll of wood contact paper, available here.
Alternatively, you can pick up a pack of self-stick wood effect vinyl floor tiles, available here for under $20 which you can lay over the top of a cheap paper table cover to transform a rectangular table into an impressive looking bowling lane (plus you can use the tiles to create a flat surface in your basement / backyard if you’re holding the birthday party at home).
Then add a few arrowhead markings using red tape.
Below is an illustration to show how this might look. The styling in the illustration below, with the use of a table runner, votives, and a floral centerpiece, is more suited to an adult birthday party.
However you can still adapt the basic idea of a bowling lane table for a kid’s birthday part – just swap the floral centerpiece for the Styrofoam bowling balls suggested below. For information on the bowling ball paper lanterns in the picture, see the decorations section below.
At one end of the table arrange a set of plastic bowling pins, available here, (again, you can use these for the actual bowling too) or use the smaller foam bowling pins suggested for the 3D invitations.
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bowling party centerpieces
For a centerpiece, paint Styrofoam balls, available here, to look like bowling balls and arrange 3 or 4 running down the middle of the table.
To adapt this idea for an adult birthday party, you might want to create the bowling balls centerpieces out of flowers. Carnations are perfect for modelling into balls and it’s really quite simple to do.
You just insert Carnation stems into a Styrofoam ball. See a full description for how to create Carnation balls like these (below left, from Delish, photo by Charles Schiller).
Once you’ve created the ball don’t forget to create 3 holes in each to make them instantly identifiable as bowling balls. I’d suggest inserting 3 sewing thimbles into the Carnations to achieve this look.
You can soften this look even more by scattering some votive candles around the centerpiece I’d suggest creating a rectangle of votive candles to contain the centerpiece as the straight lines will fit in nicely with the bowling lane effect.
Alternatively, another quick and easy centerpiece would be to use bowling pin sippers, available here, as vases with a single stem in each. See these examples below (below left, from Intimate Weddings, and below right, from Couronne Company) for how simple, yet effective, single stem centerpieces can be.
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bowling party tablewear
For tableware, I’d suggest making your own bowling ball plates by taking regular paper party plates, available here, and adding these dot labels, available here. to represent the holes. These will look great on the wood effect table and tie in well with the ‘table as a bowling lane’ approach.
Alternatively, you can buy professionally printed ones, available here.
Alternatively, there are a number of other bowling themed paper plates, such as the ones below available here (more designs available), some of which can also be personalized.
check out some of the non-personalized designs available here.
There are also some nice bowling themed cardstock napkin rings, available here, which tie everything together nicely.
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08 bowling party decorations
Below are some decoration tips to complement bowling party ideas. You can use these at home, or adapt them to whatever space you have available:
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entrance decorations
Always have some sort of decorations outside to mark out the entrance to your party and greet people as they arrive.
One idea would be to use these huge 3′ diameter round balloons, available here, with these 2″ dot stickers, available here, attached to make them look like bowling balls.
Alternatively, use a personalized bowling themed yard sign, available here, or this vertical banner, available here, on your front door.
These balloon structures (below, from Cut Out and Keep) make great bowling party decorations. They’re simple enough to make and would look really impressive either side of your dessert table – or use them at the entrance to your party.
Just nail a tall wooden pole (something shaped like a broom handle) to a base plate to create a frame, then tie balloons around the pole working from the base up. Use larger balloons for the bottom half and slightly smaller ones on the top half to reproduce the shape of the pin, then complete with one large balloon at the very top.
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bowling ball decorations
For inside, you can turn regular black paper lanterns, available here, into bowling balls by just adding 3 dot stickers, available here, to represent the holes.
These make great hanging decorations and look particularly good when hung above the table in a cluster (see the photos below for inspiration).
You could also do something similar with solid color beach balls, available here. Again, just attach dot stickers to represent the holes. Then just scatter some beach balls around the party – kid’s will love to play around with them.
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bowling posters
There are lots of posters you can use for bowling party decorations, including quite a few different ones for The Big Lebowski — which could be good for an adult birthday party. Check out all the options here.
There are also some really cool vintage posters, available here and also here, if you’re throwing a retro bowling party. Often these are quite small though (14″ x 12″) — so be sure to check the sizes as you might need to use quite a few in order to make an impression – which then might not be cost effective.
Pick up a bowling themed stand-in, available here, for guests to have their photo taken with their faces on the pins. These photos make great souvenirs and you could also incorporate them into thank you cards when you follow up after the party.
Alternatively, use these printable photobooth props, available here.
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09 BOWLING PARTY GAMES & ACTIVITIES
For a list of games and activities, see my separate Bowling Party Games page. This page contains ideas for games that can be played either at a bowling alley or at home, such as:
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10 BOWLING PARTY costumes
If you want to get everybody involved in the theme and play in teams, the cheapest way to do costumes is to use these party costume style bowling shirts. Check them out here or see some of the more quirky bowling party costumes here.
Alternatively, if you’re prepared to spend a bit more you can get some much more professional looking bowling shirts, available here, or some fun ‘team name’ shirts. These are particularly good for a retro bowling party.
Another way to have team shirts made up is to get personalized bowling T shirts printed, such as the ones below, available here.
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11 BOWLING PARTY favors
These mini bowling pin candy containers, available here, would make perfect party favors. You can even get personalized printable labels, available here.
There are also lots of great bowling favor boxes, such as these printable ones shaped like bowling lanes, pins, and balls available here.
If you’re using the printable favor boxes above, check out all the bowling themed novelties, available here, that you can put in the boxes.
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12 thank you notes
Don’t forget to follow up after the party with a thank you note.
Check out this supplier and also this one for the best range of designs compliment these bowling party ideas.